Railways to fast track three coal connectivity lines

Three key coal connectivity lines that could help to augment the power capacity and increase the in the coal produce by about 100 million tonnes will be on the priority list of the Indian Railways. These lines in the states of Jharkhand, Odisha and Chattisgarh have been stuck for land acquisition and environment issues and also happen to fall under the Naxal affected regions.

After a recently concluded meeting between the Railway Minister Sadananda Gowda and Minister of State (Independent Charge) of Coal & Power and New & Renewable Energy Piyush Goyal, both ministries decided to come out with clear timeline for the project completion and perpetual project monitoring to ensure speedy process. The state government will also be roped in to ensure key approvals are sought in time.

A multi disciplinary project monitoring unit is being formed with representative from Railways, Ministry of Coal and Department of Revenue and Forest of concerned State Government for better coordination.

These three projects are Tori-Shivpur (44 kms) Shivpur-Kathautia (53 kms) railway line in Jharkhand. Jharsuguda-Barpalli-Sardega railway line (53 kms) in Odisha and Bhupdevpuir-Korichapan-Dharamjaigarh (180 kms) in Mand-Raigarh coalfield, Chhattisgarh.